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Government to offer testing for “everyone who needs one” in social care settings

Hancock: social care staff and care home residents with Covid-19 symptoms to get tested

Health and social care secretary announcement follows mounting concern over death toll and lack of support for sector in tackling coronavirus

All symptomatic care residents will be tested for COVID-19 as testing capacity continues to increase

All patients discharged from hospital to be tested before going into care homes as a matter of course

All social care staff who need a test will now have access to one with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to contact all 30,000 care providers in the coming days to offer tests

The government will roll out Covid-19 testing to all symptomatic adult social care staff, their family members and care home residents, following mounting concerns about the coronavirus’s impact on the sector.

Tests will also be provided to all residents admitted to care homes from hospital and, eventually, from the community, health and social care secretary Matt Hancock said today, though he did not put timescales on the plan.

Hancock’s announcement came as providers, unions, charities and councils highlighted the severe pressures care homes – and the wider social care sector – were facing from Covid-19 without the resources and equipment to deal with them. This included fears of a mounting death toll within residential and nursing homes.

Today’s plan is part of the target of delivering 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month, by rolling out access beyond people who are seriously ill in hospital with, or requiring admission for, pneumonia or flu-like symptoms, increasing numbers of NHS staff and up to five residents in a care setting where there has been an outbreak.

Are you interested in a career in health and social care? We are still taking on apprentices and supporting the sector during this difficult time. Have a look at our health and social care apprenticeships here